Southern Beltway Acid Mine Drainage

Mon February 18, 2019 - Northeast Edition #4
Brenda Ruggiero – CEG Correspondent

Acid mine drainage was challange during the Southern Beltway Project.

Although it is noted to be a rare challenge for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to deal with on projects, acid mine drainage is a factor in this Southern Beltway Project. For several years, engineers have reportedly been studying it to determine what the best solution is.

"There is an abandoned mine just west of Noblestown Road (State Route 4037) that is filled with acid mine drainage [AMD]," explained John J. Dzurko, engineer project manager of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission."

Prior to any construction, an AMD passive treatment system will need to be built to handle the mine water.

"A sheet pile wall will be built so as not to expose the mine shafts while opening a passage-way for the water to release," he said. "After the sheet piles are installed, which likely will be around mid-April, the contained area will be excavated and then backfilled with limestone. Limestone is alkaline and will neutralize the acidic AMD."

Once all the limestone has been put in place, an embankment will be built. That earthwork will reportedly be finished sometime in June.

"The embankment will then need to sit for six months per Geotech standards so the ground has time to settle," Dzurko said.

Construction on a bridge abutment needed in this area is expected to begin in December 2019.

Brenda Ruggiero

Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.

Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.

Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.

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